Objectives

Chapter 1 is an introduction to A World of Art. This first chapter illustrates that all cultures produce art, and describes the similar roles that all artists have historically shared. A World of Art begins with a discussion of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Umbrellas, a fascinating and monumental work which serves to illustrate some of the differences and similarities between the United States and Japan.

After reading this chapter you should:

1. understand how Christo and Jeanne Claude's work pushed the three-dimensional "space of art" to new extremes by creating a work that existed in "global" space.

2. know the four "roles" of the artist, and how each of the cited landscape artists; Albert Bierstadt, Wu Chen, Erna Motna, and Richard Serra, addressed all four of these roles to some degree.

3. consider two non-Western traditions of thinking as represented by the artists Wu Chen and Erna Motna. Are there philosophical or cultural similarities that drive their creativity?

4. understand how the process of seeing is both a physical and a psychological process, tempered by our fears, prejudices, customs and beliefs.

5. know the definitions of key terms including aesthetic, earthwork, and sublime; and understand how the terms reception— extraction—inference play a role in the process of seeing.

6. see how six works of art featuring representations of the American Flag have six very different meanings.

When we see a work of art it may not be immediately clear just what the artist is trying to communicate. Chapter 1 provides a solid foundation for understanding the roles that artists play universally, which will aid in your understanding of the works they create. Perhaps the most important thing to consider in this chapter is the value of forming your own opinions about art—what you appreciate or admire, and why. This is the premise behind the last element in this chapter, and all chapters that follow—The Critical Process. As you continue to progress through the following chapters you will begin to learn about the language of art—the terms and ideas that we use when talking about art and its meaning.

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